Stalactites drip from the cave ceiling and deposit stalagmites on the floor, forming columns when they meet. Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a large commercial cave just west of Luray, Virginia, USA. Discovered in 1878, the Caverns are in the Shenandoah Valley just east of the Allegheny Range of the Appalachian Mountains. The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems (columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, mirrored pools, etc).